Hook Up Trouble With Flukes?

[RyneB]

I have just gotten into flukes this year. I was having good success with the caffeine shad but it just wasnt tough enough and my hookup ratio was bad. I switched to a Zoom Fluke and my hook up ratio is still terrible. Id say i catch 1 fish for every 10 strikes. I know some of these are small fish, but i have had some decent bass on and they just get off. My hooks are all new, i have tried gammys and trokars and its the same old same sold. Do you guys let the fish take it for a few seconds? I just feel the hit and set.

[TylerVC]

When throwing a fluke I will rig it weightless on a 4 ewg hook. The hooks I use are cheap bass pro hooks. I sometimes wait to set the hook if they are just bumping it. You can generally feel when they inhale the bait. I will set the hook pretty hard and fairly quickly when I get a bite, as long as I think they inhaled it. Also, make sure you reel the slack out of your line before you set the hook. I have a good hook up ratio doing this.

Sometimes I miss a couple of bites in a row and when I look at the fluke it will be balled up around the hook. When this happens I will take it off and put a new one on or adjust the way it was hooked.

[A-Rob]

Try nose hooking the fluke with a owner wide gap finesse hook (I normally use them for wacky senkos)

if it is weightless it will still remain fairly weedless

[msolorio]

i just about won a recent tournament on flukes. i had a ton of strikes and capitalized on all but one. like stated above, reel all the slack down and set hard. if theyre on a fluke bite chances are theyre goin to inhale that sucker so hook ups shouldnt be an issue. i use 4/0 gammy ewg's and never have a problem. dont bury the point of the hook so deep, just skin hook it enough to where its weedless but still able to punch through easy when you set. what rod reel and pound test line were you using?

[Marty]

Are you using a large enough hook? I prefer a 4/0 extra-wide-gap, but I know some folks use a 3/0. If the hook is large enough, I'd review everything involved in the process, because even if your technique was less than perfect you ought to land more than 10% of your bass.

[KevO]

If I'm missing fish on a fluke I will take a piece of surgical or stopper from a trailer hook and add a small treble hook. Stick one treble in the fluke and go at it. It doesn't impede the action and will increase your hook ups.

[iceintheveins]

I have never had an issue with hooksets on flukes, even with 6 - 8 pound mono. Even a small bass usually totally inhales it. Just take all the slack out of the line and hammer the hook home. Make sure also you are using a medium heavy, stiff graphite rod.

[hatrix]

For flukes or any softnplastic really if I feel a tap tap I usually lIme to wait a split second while I take up some slack then set the hook.

[smalljaw67]

If you are just getting into fishing them, what kind of rod and line set up are you using? If you are using a limber or moderate action rod with any line other than braid then I would say that is the problem. A 4" Super Fluke Jr. I use a 2/0 EWG hook on 10lb copoly line with a medium power, extra fast action spinning rod and it is fool proof, for full size flukes I use a 4/0 EWG hook 12# or 14# copoly with a MH-F casting rod. Take a look at the rod you use, it may not have enough backbone to set the hook or perhaps the line has too much stretch.

[RyneB]

im using a boyd duckett spinning rod, 7 foot at medium fast action i believe. Using sufix fluoro and 4/0 ewg gammy and trokar. I have tried a few of my other baitcasting setups as well, no luck. I thought about braid, but i fish strip mines where visibilty is 30 + feet, and my braid setups just never seem to get bit. Mayne its a confidence thing. I was throwing the caffeine shad a 6-6 skeet reese jerkbait/topwater rod with a revo s and 12 lb copolymer.

[RyneB]

i am beginning to think i may be burying the hook point too deep in the back of the bait. I fish some pretty nasty vegetation with it, so having it 100% weedless is necessary.

[smalljaw67]

i am beginning to think i may be burying the hook point too deep in the back of the bait. I fish some pretty nasty vegetation with it, so having it 100% weedless is necessary.

That could be a problem, I rig it texposed. The way to do it is bring the hook all the way out so the hook point is exposed and then just skin hook the point of the hook in the back and you'll be set, it will be weedless but very little plastic to go through. If you need a visual just go to youtube and look for texposed and you'll understand.

[Jake P]

i am beginning to think i may be burying the hook point too deep in the back of the bait. I fish some pretty nasty vegetation with it, so having it 100% weedless is necessary.

I can almost gaurantee you this is your problem. I was fishing a pond with HEAVY vegetation and was having the same problem as you as far as hookups go because if i didnt bury it real deep i was pulling in all kinds of crap other than fish. make sure when you rig it that you can see the straight part of the hook and that only the tip of the hook is whats buried. If you bury the entire back of the hook, it will never get out of the fluke. A BIG hookset helped me too. Good luck!

[iceintheveins]

Rig them upside down with the hook concealed by the belly slit. That's how I rig flukes and it always has worked great.

[RyneB]

Rig them upside down with the hook concealed by the belly slit. That's how I rig flukes and it always has worked great.

i actually thought about this right before i left. So i maybe had 10 casts with this setup. Next time out im going to give it a shot. I try other thing in the vegetation, but right now all the little fry are in the weeds and bass are just smashing them. A fluke is the only thing that will get bit. Thanks everyone for there advice.

[james 14]

Rig them upside down with the hook concealed by the belly slit. That's how I rig flukes and it always has worked great.

This will make your problem worse. Been there and done that. I used to hook mine this way and had frequent troubles with hooksets until I started bringing the hook out through the back instead of the slot.

If you're fishing in heavy grass you can go ahead and use braid but you really shouldn't be having a problem.

When are the fish coming off? Do you get any fight out of them or are they coming off immediately?

[psuangler91]

i am beginning to think i may be burying the hook point too deep in the back of the bait. I fish some pretty nasty vegetation with it, so having it 100% weedless is necessary.

I fish heavy really thick nasty weeds with my flukes and never get any weeds on them or miss fish unless I see them hit it and set the hook before I feel the take. I use a 3/0 or 4/0 gamakatsu ewg depending on how fast I want it to sink, I think it actually makes a difference, even if it's just in my head. The way to do it is make sure the head completely covers your knot, then texas rig ti and lay the hook point on the body of the fluke. Pinch the body where the hook exits and pull the front half away from the point then poke the point barely under the surface and let go. This keeps the point hooked really shallow but it goes into the bait enough that it won't pull out on weeds. All my strikes come when I rip it out of the weeds and pause it for a second, they absolutely crush it no short strikes.

[SirSnookalot]

Went out yesterday pm, my flukes seemed real oily and I couldn't grip them to slide them onto to my 4/0 ewg hook, so I just nose hooked them. They worked perfect, in fact hook sets were even better as I had no plastic to worry about driving thru.

[hike4steel]

im using a boyd duckett spinning rod, 7 foot at medium fast action i believe. Using sufix fluoro and 4/0 ewg gammy and trokar. I have tried a few of my other baitcasting setups as well, no luck. I thought about braid, but i fish strip mines where visibilty is 30 + feet, and my braid setups just never seem to get bit. Mayne its a confidence thing. I was throwing the caffeine shad a 6-6 skeet reese jerkbait/topwater rod with a revo s and 12 lb copolymer.

I have the Skeet topwater rod and IMO the tip is a little soft for a EWG hook. Okay for trebels. Try a MH or a M w/stiffer tip.